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The Golden Plate

황금 접시

Once upon a time in a place called Seri, there were two salesmen of pots, pans and hand-made trinkets. They agreed to divide the town and that after one had gone through his area, it was all right for the other to try and sell where the first had already been.

One day, a poor little girl saw one of them coming down the street and asked her grandmother to buy her a bracelet. But the salesman didn't want to waste his time with these poor people, so he said he had no bracelet for her to buy. Then she asked, "We have an old plate useless to us. Can we trade it for a bracelet?"

The man, while examining it, happened to scratch the bottom of it. To his surprise, underneath the black soot, it was a golden plate! To get the plate for next to nothing, however, he pretended not to notice it. "This is not worth even one bracelet. I don't want it!", said he. Intending to return later and trade even less for the plate, he left.

Meanwhile the other salesman followed the first as they had agreed. Seeing him, the poor little girl begged of her grandmother again. Thinking this was a nice tender-looking merchant unlike the rough-talking first salesman, the woman invited him in and offered the same trade. While examining it, he also saw it was pure gold under the grime. He said, "All my goods and money together are not worth as much as this rich golden plate!" Of course, she was shocked at this discovery. But now knowing he was good and honest, the woman said she would gladly accept whatever he could trade for it. The salesman said, "I'll give you all my goods and all my money except just eight coins and my balancing scale with its cover to put the golden plate in." After the trade, he went down to the river, and paid the eight coins to the ferry man to take him across.

By then, the greedy salesman had returned, already adding up huge imaginary profits in his head. He said he would offer a few cents, but not one of his bracelets, for the useless sooty old plate. The old woman then calmly told him of the trade just made and said, "Sir, you lied to us."

The greedy man was not ashamed of his lies, but saddened, thinking, "I've lost the golden plate that must be worth a hundred thousand. He robbed me! He robbed me! He won't make a fool out of me!" The man immediately ran down to the river. From the riverside he saw the honest salesman still crossing over on the ferry boat. He shouted to the ferry man to come back. But the boat kept on going ahead.

Seeing that he could do nothing, the greedy man so exploded with rage against the honest man that he jumped up and down, beating his chest. Finally he had a heart attack and died on the spot.